True Love Is Always an Option
by devilishmew
Summary: What if Torn didn't end the way it did? Rated for language.
1. The Bullet

True Love Is Always an Option  
  
Chapter 1  
  
BLAM! For what seemed to be slow motion, the bullet from Livvie's pistol flew into Rafe's back as blood quickly began to flow. "A-Angel. . ." Rafe held Alison tight as he collapsed to the floor. Alison gasped and held him tightly in her arms, beginning to cry. "Rafe. . .no! Don't leave me! Right after your memory returned. . ." Rafe breathed heavily, knowing he was going to die. "My angel. . .Rafe. . .I'll call a doctor!" ". . .No. . ." Rafe protested He knew a doctor could not come in time. "Good-bye Alison. . .my angel. . ." Rafe's eyes closed as death overtook him. Alison continued to hold him, saying, "This can't be happening. . .please, no. . ." She began to plead for Rafe to come back to life. The entire time, Livvie stood at the entrance to the barn, emotionless. Alison completely ignored her, but when she lifted her head, Ms. Locke was gone. Alison sobbed uncontrollably. Her guardian angel was gone. . .this had to be impossible.  
  
Livvie entered her home and slumped on her bed, already disposing of the gun so no one would be able to find it with her fingerprints. "I had to do it, Alison," Livvie said to herself, "There was no other way."  
  
Jamal and Marissa were at the bike shop, eating and flirting. "Jamal, no! You know I'm ticklish!" Marissa giggled. Jamal tickled Marissa's chest, smiling with delight. He eventually stopped. "Jeez, Jamal," Marissa said. "You sure are spunky today!" Spunky. . .Jamal stared off into space. His nickname for Alison, Spunky, made the cute blonde appear in his mind. He sighed. Marissa noticed; she had seen this blank look before. "You still love her, don't you?" Marissa asked. Jamal came out of his trance. 'It's just that. . .well, I made a really stupid mistake. I blamed Ali for Valerie's death. Valerie was trying to tear us apart. Then Angel Boy came and swept Alison off her feet." "Jamal. . ." Marissa said sadly. "I'm so sorry." "S'alright," Jamal said in his usual happy voice. He kissed Marissa, then his eyes fell upon the window. The figure saw that Jamal found him and ran. "Ricky," Jamal said seriously. "Damn," Marissa said, shaking her head. "He still thinks I'm related to that Casey girl." Jamal shrugged and got a mischievous look in his eye. "No!" Marissa said. But it was too late. He began tickling her again.  
  
Alison sobbed in her room at Lucy's house. Lucy wasn't home. She was at work, dealing with cosmetics. Alison decided she had to see Livvie. Livvie had to pay. Livvie heard what sounded like a rhino ramming at her door. "Jesus, I'm coming!" Livvie said angrily. The first words Livvie heard were "You bitch!" All of a sudden, Livvie was slapped in the face and pushed backwards hard, tripping over the stairs that led to the door. Wow, she thought. I didn't know Alison was that strong. "You killed the love of my life," Alison said through gritted teeth. "I HATE YOU!" She lunged at Livvie, but this time Livvie wasn't caught off guard. She caught Alison's hands as Alison attempted to maul her. The two struggled until Livvie finally spoke. "Alison!" she shouted. "You have no idea what you're doing! Rafe's death was a solution! Not a problem!" Alison continued to resist Livvie, her eyes flaring with anger. 


	2. Death is Revealed

Chapter 2  
  
Jamal and Marissa were back home. Well, not exactly. Jamal had picked Marissa up and carried her through the door when the phone rang. "I got it," Jamal said, putting a giggling Marissa down. Marissa saw him pick up the phone, and his smile quickly became a look of utmost concern. "Oh my God," he said. "How did this happen?" A minute later he hung up the phone and looked at Marissa.  
  
"What? What?" she said, excitedly but nervously. "That was Jack," said Jamal. "Marissa, Rafe's dead."  
  
Meanwhile, Livvie had finally calmed Alison down. Well, from a raging lion to a raging cat. "And. . ." Alison said, her breath heavy. "Why is Rafe's death a GOOD thing, exactly?" "Alison, it's time you know," Livvie said quietly, refusing to make eye contact with her one-time best friend. "Rafe brainwashed you into falling for him. The whole charade when I married him wasn't to get revenge on you. It was to protect you." Expecting Alison to be emotional as she usually was, Livvie was surprised when Alison began to laugh. "Right, Livvie," Alison said through muffled snickers. "Ok, we have vampires and angels. Now you're saying we have hypnotizers?" Livvie's eyebrows lowered. She realized that while Alison was usually emotional, Rafe's spell was doing this to her.  
  
Jamal sank onto his bed, covering his head with his hands. "Man, Alison. . ." He decided to finish his sentence with ". . .she must be devastated." Marissa sat next to him. "Put it this way," Marissa said, attempting to cheer Jamal up. "You might have a chance with her now! Heh, heh." Jamal shook his head. "I don't want to be a rebound guy." Then he said, "Marissa, I'm going to visit Ali." "Ok," Marissa said. She went over to get her jacket. "No," Jamal said, "I want to do this alone." Marissa immediately understood and nodded. Jamal knocked on Lucy's door, hoping Alison would answer. But Lucy had just come home and instead of Alison, he heard Lucy sing, "Comiiing!" She answered the door. "Hey, Jamal!" she said. They hugged each other. Lucy obviously doesn't know, Jamal thought. "Is Ali here?" Jamal asked. Lucy shook her head. "Actually," she replied, "I don't know where she is." "Oh," Jamal said sadly. "What's wrong?" Lucy asked him. "Lucy. . ." he said slowly, "Lucy, Rafe was killed." "W-what?" she said through tears. Rafe was her cousin. "He was shot in the back. He died before he was taken to the hospital. No one knows who did it. At least this is what Jack told me." Lucy covered her mouth. "Oh, my. . .Jamal, I'll call around and find Alison." "Thanks," Jamal said, faking a smile. Lucy kissed Jamal on the cheek and Jamal left. 


	3. Explanation

Chapter 3  
  
Ricky sat alone in his apartment, slowly playing his drums. Thoughts of Casey and Marissa raced through his mind. "This just can't be a coincidence," he thought out loud. "They gotta be twins or, or something." He stopped playing his drums and sat, deep in thought. "Why am I attracted to Marissa so much?" he asked rhetorically. "She looks like Casey's clone, that's why. But Jamal, my own brother, won't let me talk to her. I mean, Ok, not technically. Ever since Gabi left, I've been so confused. I mean, the thing with Karen, and the candles." He shook his head and went back to his drums.  
  
Jamal lay on the bench in the park, silent, watching the sky. He hoped, he prayed Lucy would find something, anything. Then he remembered telling Marissa he wouldn't be long. He got up and began home, with Alison on his mind the entire time.  
  
"Alison," Livvie said calmly, "You have to believe me. Rafe tried to brainwash me, too. Somehow, I could resist him. How he got his memory back, I don't know. Ever since your breakup with Jamal, you have seemed to blank almost everything out of your mind, except Rafe. Don't you notice that?" "I can't believe I'm hearing this," Alison said. "Rafe was the man that I loved and you-you shot him! I will never, EVER forgive you." Alison stormed to the door. "Alison, wait-!" SLAM!  
  
"So?" Marissa asked Jamal as he walked in. "I don't know where Ali is. Lucy doesn't know, either." Jamal said. "Oh, now that's great," Marissa said. "Rafe's dead, Alison's gone. What else could go wrong?" The phone rang. "Looks like you spoke too soon," Jamal said as he picked up the phone. "Hello? Lucy! What? She left Livvie's house? How do you know? All right. Bye." Marissa looked at him, as if asking, "Well??" "Lucy called Livvie's house and Livvie said Alison had just left. I gotta go." "Wait!" Marissa shouted. "This time I'm coming, and you can't stop me!" Jamal rolled his eyes. "Fine." The two rushed out the door.  
  
Ricky finally decided to call Marissa. He dialed Jamal's number and sighed when he heard Jamal's voice. "Sup? Ali and I aren't here now, so leave your name, number and a brief message. Peace." Ricky chuckled to himself. Jamal forgot to change his answering machine. Suddenly, Ricky was surprised to discover he felt sorry for Jamal. Jamal had lost his love. Just like he had.  
  
Jamal was surprised to find the door open, as was Marissa. He marched in and saw Livvie. "Livvie!" Jamal shouted in a tone Livvie had never heard before. "Where's Alison!?" Livvie knew it would be tough, but she explained everything she could. Jamal was shocked. "Y-You killed Rafe? But-why?" "Jamal," Livvie began, "Rafe. . .he brainwashed Alison. After you guys broke up, you obviously noticed they became in love with each other almost immediately. You don't find that odd at all? Well, anyway, after Rafe came back from heaven after being forced away from Alison, his memory disappeared. When I found him, somehow I knew he was trying to brainwash me into acting like Alison did when she met him. So to protect him from brainwashing Ali, the only thing to do was to marry him. Unfortunately, he got his memory back and went back to Alison, who was still 'hypnotized.' In the end, if I hadn't've killed him, Alison would have been brainwashed forever." Jamal was silent for a few seconds until he asked, "But isn't she still under the spell?" Livvie nodded quickly. "You see," she continued, "Alison has to resist Rafe's spell or it won't go away. No one else can do it for her." "And you know all this. . .how?" Jamal asked. Livvie smiled. "You don't think my experiences with Caleb taught me anything?" 


	4. Memories

Chapter 4  
  
Alison was lying in the barn in which she and Rafe had had their unofficial wedding. She was whimpering quietly, moaning Rafe's name. "Rafe," she whispered, looking to the sky, "If you can return from heaven once, why can't you do it again?" She looked at the wooden post where she and Rafe had signed their names in a heart. Sighing deeply, she began to cry once again.  
  
Ricky paced back and forth. He decided to call Marissa's cell. He had to call her. He dialed her number, which he only knew because he overheard her telling it to Jamal. Marissa, standing next to Jamal, felt her pocket vibrating. She took out her cell phone. "Be right back, ok?" she said. Jamal nodded and Marissa went outside. Now that Livvie and Jamal were alone, she said to him, "Jamal, I know you and Alison loved each other to death If Rafe is out of the picture, and Alison can overcome him, you guys-" Jamal cut her off and pointed outside. "Marissa's my girlfriend, Livvie," he said quietly. "As much as I love Alison, I can't just dump Marissa." "I know," Livvie said, "but everyone knows you're thinking about Ali all the time. You guys were such a cute couple! Don't you remember all the fun times you, Ali, Jack and I had at the bike shop? The four of us have been through so much." Jamal smiled at the thought of the Chandler charade, the bike races, and the Nurse's Ball. "Yeah, those were some great times, weren't they?"  
  
Marissa heard Ricky's voice. "Hey, Marissa." Her eyes widened. "Ricky?! How'd you get this number? I never told you!" Ricky couldn't think of what to say. "Um, uh. . .can you come over?" Marissa rolled her eyes, noticing Ricky changed the subject. "I'm NOT Casey, for the last time!" she said angrily. "I just wanna talk," Ricky said calmly. "Jamal is so protective of you, I never even see you." "Dude," Marissa said, "yeah, I'm sure all you want to do is talk." "Pleeease?" she heard Ricky say. She made a kind of 'grrrr' noise, and, through gritted teeth, said, "Fine." She hung up without saying good-bye and went back inside. "Jamal?" she said. "Yeah?" "I'm going for a walk, ok?" she lied. Jamal nodded absentmindedly.  
  
Alison cried softly as she looked at a picture of her and Rafe that Jack had taken. No, there's no brainwashing here, Alison thought. Rafe is just the man I love. Or was. . . She began to cry again. "Rafe, I need you!" she yelled.  
  
There was a knock at the door. Ricky answered it and saw Marissa, who invited herself in. "What do you want?" she asked rudely. Ricky walked toward her and gestured for her to sit down. He looked at her fixedly. "Damn, you even act like her." Marissa looked at him. "Let me guess, Casey, right?" Ricky nodded. Once again he told himself this couldn't be a coincidence. "Marissa," he started. But she wasn't paying attention. Her head was turned to the right and her eyes were like those of a child who had just walked into a giant candy store. "You have a drum set??" she said excitedly. Ricky laughed. "Yeah, I do."  
  
Meanwhile, Jamal and Livvie continued to talk. By this time they had sat down next to each other on the sofa. "So, do you have any idea where Spunky, I mean Ali, might be?" Jamal asked. Livvie giggled at the sound of the familiar nickname. "I'm pretty sure I have a good idea," she replied. 


	5. Mysterious Feelings

Chapter 5  
  
Marissa was at the drums before Ricky could say another word. ". . .Can I?" she asked Ricky for permission. Ricky nodded, smiling. But his smile became a frown quickly after Marissa played what sounded like a herd of elephants stampeding. Ricky covered his ears. "Aaaah! Stop! STOP!!" She stopped, barely hearing him over the noise. He got up and walked over to her. "I'll help you. Before somebody's ear falls off."  
  
Back in the barn, Alison heard footsteps. "R-Rafe?" she said hopefully. Jamal entered, not hearing what she had said, and Alison sat back down. "Hey, Spunky," he said, smiling in his usual way. "Hey," she said, concentrating on the picture of her and Rafe. "Look. . ." he began. Alison picked her head up. "Alison, I heard what happened. I" -he saw Rafe's blood stain on the floor- "I'm really sorry. Is there anything I can do?" He sat down next to her and put his arm around her. He was surprised when she put her head on his shoulder. "Yeah," she said. "Bring Rafe back." Jamal looked down sadly. "I wish I could, Ali. I wish I could."  
  
Marissa held the drumsticks in her hand eagerly. Ricky put his hands on her arms and she jumped slightly. "Watch," he said. He used his hands to get her into a slight but catchy rhythm. Marissa smiled enthusiastically. Ricky laughed. "Great job!" he said. "But it's my turn now." Marissa handed the drumsticks to him. "Now," he said, "I'm a pro. Watch the master at work." He flipped the drumsticks in his hands to show off and began to perform a very complicated and cool-sounding rhythm. Marissa couldn't help but tap her foot.  
  
Livvie started when she heard a rapping on the door. She opened it, and saw. . . "Jack? What are you doing here?" she asked. Without answering her question, he replied with, "Livvie, can I come in?" "Sure," she answered. Jack came in and sat on the couch he remembered so well. "Livvie, there's something I have to tell you."  
  
Jamal saw that Alison was starting to cry again. He caressed her soft, blonde hair and kissed her head. "So, did you hear what Livvie said about that brainwashing crap?" Alison asked. "Yeah," Jamal said, trying not to reveal that he believed it too. "Hey," he said, "Why don't you stay with Marissa and me for a while?" 


	6. A Turn of Events

Chapter 6  
  
Ricky ended his performance with a loud cymbal clash, stood up, and bowed. Marissa clapped loudly. "Woooo!" she shouted. Ricky sat down next to her. "You know," she said to him, "You're not such an ass after all." "Really??" he said, in a fake excited tone. "Wow, what a compliment!" She hit him playfully and laughed. He moved closer to her. All of a sudden, Ricky said unexpectedly, "You are so beautiful."  
  
"What, Jack?" Livvie asked. "Is it about Alison?" "No," he said, "it's about us," pointing from him to Livvie and back again quickly. Livvie sat down. Ever since Jack and Livvie had got into a fight after Alison's trial for her so-called murder of Kevin, Livvie had been in love with Jack. Before the incident, Jack and Livvie had been through everything together. From Chandler to Caleb, at one time they were an inseparable couple. "Livvie, I've been thinking," Jack continued, "Maybe I was a little too harsh on you. I mean, you thought your father was dead. . ." Livvie nodded, her heart pounding. "I really don't want us to be enemies," Jack said. "Oh, me neither," Livvie said quickly. She moved closer to Jack, who didn't notice.  
  
Keeping her head on Jamal's shoulder, Alison looked up at him. "Really?" she asked, tears flowing down her face Jamal wiped them off gently with his hand. "Yeah." Alison sat up. Jamal said, "I really want to apologize for acting like that toward you after Valerie died." At this point, Jamal seemed to notice that she wasn't thinking about Rafe. Could she have broken the spell? "Jamal," she said seriously, "you broke my heart." Jamal sighed. "I know. I never even told you this, but Jack and I got into a bad fist fight about what I had done. We were both bleeding by the end. I-I couldn't believe what I had done to you. Then I came to apologize, but-" he stopped.  
  
"Rafe burst in," Alison finished. Jamal nodded. "Yup." Jamal got up. "Well, I. . .I better go. . .yeah." "Wait," Alison said. She smiled at him. "I think I'm taking you on that offer. I'm going to be living with you for a while whether you like it or not. Ha ha!" Jamal laughed. "Come on, Spunky." Before they left, Jamal noticed something-Alison didn't take the picture of Rafe with her.  
  
Marissa didn't know what to say. "Uh. . .thanks," was all she could think of. Before she knew it, Ricky leaned his head in and kissed her. "Woah, woah, hooold up!" she said, surprised. "I'm with Jamal, dude." But Ricky seemed to ignore her completely as he kissed her again. But this time it was different. Marissa felt as if she was someone else. It was an odd feeling. All of a sudden, she thought that. . .just maybe. . .no. She didn't even know Casey. But for some reason, she returned Ricky's kiss. 


	7. New and Old

Chapter 7  
  
"Jack," Livvie said. "You know how I feel about you." Jack nodded. "Livvie, I-well, put it this way, I've been an idiot towards you. I'm really sorry." This time it was Jack who moved closer to Livvie. Livvie shrugged and laughed. "I've experienced idiots before," she said. Jack looked at Livvie and saw the pretty smile he once knew. She looked back at Jack. . .and kissed him. No, this wasn't a peck on the cheek. It was a long kiss, a passionate one that only comes from love. Jack was amazed. "Livvie, I-" Livvie immediately realized her mistake. "Oh, God, Jack, I'm so sorry-" she got up from the sofa. "No," Jack said. He pulled her back down. "Livvie, I-I love you."  
  
At the same time, Ricky realized his mistake. He pulled away from Marissa. Without saying anything, he stood up and walked to the door. "Go on. Jamal's waiting," he muttered, opening the door. Marissa stood up, confused. Without warning, she began to feel a strange sensation throughout her body. Ricky's eyes widened. "What the-? Marissa, you're glowing!" And indeed she was. She had a sparkling yellow aura about her. Suddenly, the entire room went white. When Ricky could see again, he looked to where Marissa was standing. "Casey!?"  
  
Jamal took his key out of his pocket and opened the door to his apartment. "Ahh, home sweet home!" Jamal said merrily. He threw his keys on the dresser and looked around for Marissa. He was actually relieved she wasn't home because he wanted to be alone with Alison. Alison walked in slowly, looking around the place she used to live in, seeing all sorts of pictures of when she and Jamal were together. She sat down on the couch when she suddenly realized something very important. "Jamal!" she shouted. "Yeah?" she heard him say from another room. "I'm going to Lucy's to pack my stuff, all right?" She saw an arm stick out with the thumbs up signal and smiled at the Jamal she used to love. Then, she left for Lucy's house.  
  
Livvie stared into Jack's face. "I love you too, Jack," she said, smiling. "After all this time, we finally say our true feelings for each other." She and Jack hugged tightly. Jack looked at Livvie.  
  
"This time," he said, "I'm definitely not letting you go." He smiled and kissed her again.  
  
Ricky couldn't believe his eyes. There was Casey, staring straight at him. The punk clothes, the tattoos, the disheveled hair in a ponytail, the beautiful face. "Oh my God," he said breathlessly. Marissa had become Casey. All of Casey's memories returned as she ran over to Ricky. "I'm back," she said. She hugged Ricky. He, however, was thoroughly confused. "But-how? I mean, I know you're an angel and all, but how the hell did this happen: Casey winked at Ricky. "The people upstairs decided to let me come back," she said, pointing to the ceiling. Then she continued her explanation. "Marissa, while having independent thoughts, was used, I guess, to find out what was goin' on down here. Your kiss-no, your love-brought me back, Ricky." She kissed him as he realized his dreams had come true. 


	8. True Love

Chapter 8  
  
Back at Lucy's house, Alison had found an empty suitcase and was packing her stuff hurriedly. Alison jumped when she heard Lucy's voice. "Alison!" Lucy cried. Lucy ran over and hugged her. "I was so worried about you. . ." Her voice trailed off as she saw the suitcase. "Uh. . .what are you doing?" Alison talked with her back to Lucy, continuing to pack. "I'm moving back in with Jamal." Lucy was confused. "Permanently?" Alison shrugged. The truth was, she didn't know.  
  
BRRRING! Jamal ran to the phone and picked it up. "Y'ello?" he said. Ricky was on the other end. As the two talked, Ricky explained everything that hah happened at his apartment. Ricky finished with, "I'm so sorry, Jamal. I know you loved Marissa." But for some reason, there was another girl, not Marissa, on Jamal's mind. "Ricky, I have to tell you something," Jamal said. He told Ricky that eventually he might get back together with Alison. Expecting a jerky comment, instead, Jamal heard, "Good luck, bro." "Thanks," Jamal stammered, surprised at Ricky's comment. "See ya." He hung up.  
  
Lucy sat down. "What about Rafe?" she asked. Alison stopped and sat down next to Lucy and hugged her. "I know you had big plans for us," Alison said, "but some things. . .you just have to get over. I know its really hard for you because he was your cousin." Lucy understood. "Jamal was your first love," Lucy said, "You two deserve each other." Alison smiled at Lucy as she headed out the door. "Good luck, Alison!" Lucy said, as Alison waved. "Ta!"  
  
Soon, Alison arrived back at Jamal's apartment. "Welcome back, Spunky," she heard Jamal say. She giggled and began to unpack, then she sat down next to Jamal, who was holding a picture of the two of them at the beach. Alison gently took the picture out of his hand and set it on the side table. "Jamal, I know you miss. . .us." Jamal looked up at her. "We've had so many great times," she said, "And. . ." She smiled at him. "I think it's possible we could get it all back." Jamal looked at her beautiful eyes and said, "I think you're right, baby girl." He leaned toward her and the two kissed passionately. 


	9. The Bike Shop

Chapter 9  
  
The next day, Jamal, Alison, Jack, Livvie, Casey, and Ricky all met at the bike shop, and talked excitedly with each other.  
  
"So," Jamal said to Jack after hugging him, "You guys back together?" Livvie grabbed Jack's arm. "Together forever," she replied.  
  
"Same with us," Jamal said, hugging Alison tightly. Suddenly, Ricky looked at his watch.  
  
"Ooh," he said. "Time for drum practice. Coming, Casey?" "You bet I am," she said in her usual high-pitched voice. The pair left the bike shop together.  
  
"Well," Jack said after Ricky and Casey left. "Looks like the Fearsome Foursome is back together."  
  
All four of them hugged each other, thinking of the great times they had and the great times they would have in the future.  
  
THE END 


End file.
